A tweet today by social media thought leader Chris Berger led me to an interesting post on Ragan.com about the use of social media by the leaders of several large associations for professional business communicators. While Lindsey Miller did a nice job on the research, what I found particularly interesting was the comment posted by IABC President Julie A. Freeman in response to the story.

Here’s Freeman’s comment:

“I agree that associations should use social media and help their members use it. This is especially true for a communication association, which needs to be exploring new ways to communicate and understanding the value of new vehicles. That is why IABC developed eXchange, which gives its members the opportunity to practice blogging the Cafe gives IABC leaders and senior staff (including me) a forum to communicate with members. It is also why IABC has Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages and why the marketing/communication staff has been very active on those pages. Our past two chairs (Barb Gibson and Mark Schumann) have been active bloggers and Twitterers. As President of IABC, I need to be sure that IABC is active in social media, including Twitter, but that does not mean that I have to Twitter. I am responsible for the association’s financial health, but that does not mean I must prepare the financial statements. I am satisfied that IABC staff, members and leaders are using social media. I am not sure that my participation on Twitter would add significantly to the discussions taking place.”

While her response certainly is appropriate on a logic level, I wonder if it holds water on a practical level? True, other IABC leaders may significantly add more to the conversation than she, but does that excuse her from not being engaged with the biggest game-changer in business communications in this era?

What are your thoughts?

Related posts:

1. Social Media Burnout
2. Advice from a Social Media Pro
3. Tweet is the Word
4. Was Social Media Your Weakest Link in 2009?
5. Why some businesses are slow to adopt social media

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About the author:

Brian Courtney is a Sr. Social Media & PR executive, bringing Schubert more than 15 years of corporate PR and editorial experience. Brian enjoys traveling to exotic locations, creative writing and spending time with his family.